


5 Times It's Straight + 1 Time It Definitely Isn't

by analog08



Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: "I'm dead" move, 5+1 Things, Bickering, College, Come Eating, Coming In Pants, Denial, Exhibitionism, Facials, Friends to Lovers, Grinding, Homophobia, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Internalized Homophobia, M/M, Masturbation, Mild Dom/Sub Elements (but it's very mild), Mutual Masturbation, Mutual Pining, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Play Fighting, Sexual Experimentation, Tags Mostly in Order of Appearance, Voyeurism
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-08
Updated: 2019-05-05
Packaged: 2019-09-14 02:04:42
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,739
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16904031
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/analog08/pseuds/analog08
Summary: Ever since it started they’d been toeing the lines of rules they hadn’t even made official.No contact with one another when they came, no talking, no saying each other’s names, only utilizing hands to get each other off. Nothing that couldn’t be passed off as merely a college try.One by one their boundaries are pushed farther and farther and the black and white becomes greyer.





	1. Introduction

Link really hadn’t expected it to turn out like this. Their agreement was unspoken, sure, but _this_ … felt like a line permanently crossed between the pair.

They’d spent years (probably more than they’re willing to admit) dancing around it. Years of unnecessary touches and admiring looks while the other wasn’t quite paying attention. Years of snide comments about their relationship. Years of silently creating space between them when they’re no longer alone. 

 

He’ll be damned if he doesn’t moan obscenely when Rhett’s hand tilts his head up and Rhett’s cum lands on his cheek, throat and chest, though. 

It really shouldn’t be affecting him this much; he’s not even touching himself yet, but it feels like Rhett’s pleasure is directly connected to his. He’s kneeling diligently on their dorm room floor- his shirt is long gone by now, with one of Rhett’s warm hands holding his bare shoulder to ground himself. Link’s chest is heaving, he’s so hard in his pants he can’t think straight and he feels Rhett’s hand twitch under his chin.

Link hears a ragged breath above him before Rhett speaks, “Open for me”. His voice is commanding and intense and Link doesn’t think twice before his jaw goes slack. There’s the slide of Rhett’s thumb against his tongue and a second later Link processes the slickness and a guttural moan leaves him involuntarily. His eyes remain closed and he sucks shamelessly on the digit in his mouth, tasting the salt of Rhett’s skin and cum. 

At that, he hears a strangled gasp above him and he looks up to see Rhett looking down at him through half-lidded, bewildered eyes. When blue eyes meet green it’s like the pair are transported deep underwater, the pressure of it all forcing the air from their lungs. 

 

Ever since it started they’d been toeing the lines of rules they hadn’t even made official. No contact with one another when they came, no talking, no saying each other’s names, only utilizing hands to get each other off. Nothing that couldn’t be passed off as merely a college try. One by one their boundaries are pushed farther and farther and the black and white becomes greyer. 

Neither one of them puts a stop to it, both too needy and competitive to alter the trajectory of their burgeoning relationship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, first chapter fic!
> 
> check out [my previous fic](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16578302)


	2. Pre-Freshman Year: Between Us and the Water

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Stop it, ya jerk!” 
> 
> “ _You’re_ a jerk.” Rhett says, more resolutely. His chest is rising faster now, rivulets of water from his earlier swim dropping down to his waistband.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you to [fanbabble](https://archiveofourown.org/users/fanbabble/pseuds/fanbabble/works), [linkslipssinkships](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LinksLipsSinkShips/pseuds/LinksLipsSinkShips/works), [rhincoln](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rhincoln/pseuds/rhincoln/works) and [rhinkythingz](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rhinkythingz/pseuds/rhinkythingz/works) for not only beta'ing this fic, but encouraging me

They’re newly 18 and they’re spending nearly every day together after graduation, driving around town and swimming in the river until the water is too cold to tolerate. Rhett would awaken early in the morning and then call over to Link’s house, still yawning and rubbing the sleep from his eyes. After a week of their routine, the calls simplify to Rhett greeting his friend and Link just telling him, “ _Now._ ”

Their only time spent apart that summer was an obligatory visit to see extended family. Rhett and his parents drove down to Macon to catch up with his cousins for a week and Link truly hated every second of it. The first few days were spent trying to distract himself as much as possible. It proved difficult to do so when practically every part of their lives were interconnected.

When Link went for a walk around town he felt the absence of ever present footsteps beside him. He ended up spending the majority of the week driving around Harnett County and laying stagnant in his bed, a borrowed ‘Merle Haggard’s Greatest Hits’ tape playing faintly on his hi-fi. By the fourth day, Sue was ready to drive her son down to the heart of the Peach State herself if it would stop his moping.

 

It went without saying, but Rhett hated it too, and when he came back up from Georgia he hesitantly suggested that his parents drive him straight to Link’s. 

By the grace of God, his typically strict parents realized how much their son missed his best friend and they agreed without much pressing from him.

Rhett unbuckled his seatbelt the second Link’s house came into view and didn’t even wait for the family car to roll to a stop before opening his door and slinking out, starting up the driveway. 

His Dad sighed, but honked the horn to announce their sudden arrival, regardless.

Link was watching television lethargically in his living room when the distinct sound of a car door shutting brought him out of his haze, immediately thereafter followed by a horn blaring close by.

He bolted upright and had to’ve made it across his house in record time. 

When he flung open his front door, Rhett was almost to him and Link didn’t think twice before barreling forward to close the distance.

That is- until he was already reaching out to Rhett, arm extended forward to pull the taller teen close. Until he remembers the leering, critical eyes beyond the windshield. He falters slightly before opting to tap his open hand against Rhett’s shoulder in a muted greeting. Something shifts inside Link and his chest and throat suddenly feel perforated. He soldiers on.

“How ya been, brother?” 

Link wasn’t expecting his voice to come out as raspy as it did, and he turns his head to the side, both in embarrassment and to cough in an attempt to remedy his newly acquired hollowness.

“Good. What about you?” 

When Link turns back to the boy in front of him he’s met with a look so healing and familiar that the previous week of torture slips his mind entirely.

“Good.” 

The teens stand stationary for a second before Link coughs and asks Rhett if he wants to come inside. Rhett agrees, almost before the words have a chance to leave Link’s mouth. The taller man jogs lightly back to his parents car and leans down low to the window on the driver’s side.

“May I spend a few hours with Link tonight?” Rhett’s back is taut both in silent anticipation for his father’s response and to hold his large frame in such an uncomfortable, bent position.

Jim looks over to his wife for a second before returning his gaze to his youngest son. “Do you have a ride home?” was his deadpan inquiry, to which Link nods furiously from the apex of his driveway.

Rhett’s Dad pauses for a moment, prolonging the moment for his son. Link notices his friends back tense up, too miniscule an action to be picked up on without their extensive history.

“Be back before 7:30.”

“Yes, sir.” Rhett nods curtly in accompaniment with his statement. Knowing not to push his luck with his father. It was already a miracle that he allowed Rhett to come to Link’s house right after re-entering North Carolina. Jim shifts the car out of ‘park’ and puts a foot on the brakes. Rhett gets the message. 

He straightens up and turns toward Link again, making his way back up to him. When they’re a foot apart, Link reaches his arm upwards to wave feebly at Rhett’s parents, who are backing out of his driveway. Rhett’s mom smiles at him through the glass, tight-lipped and performative and Jim averts his gaze once he sees.

Link’s hand comes to rest by his side limply and before he can really process the sting of rejection, Rhett’s speaking, asking Link what he did without him. As they’re making their way into the house, he responds back, “Oh, you know. I got some notebooks for college. Drove around some, listened to Merle. Same I’d do with you.” He doesn’t elaborate much, not wanting to let on just how bored and depressed he’d been this past week alone.

When they make it to the kitchen, they run into Link’s mom. Rhett throws a toothy grin her way before greeting her in a sing-song voice.

“Hi, Sue.”

“Hey, honey. Glad you’re back.” Rhett’s smile widens and his ears feel colored red with embarrassment. 

“Glad to _be_ back.” He’s softer when he speaks this time. Fondness creeping into his voice.

Link clears his throat and chimes in, “We’re gonna be in my room, okay?” and his mother nods in acknowledgement. 

“Have fun. I’ll yell for ya when supper’s done.”

“Okay, thank you, Mom.” Link says sincerely and from behind him, Rhett mirrors, “Thank you, Sue” before the young men begin walking in tandem through the house.

Their short trip together is silent aside from their footsteps rapping against the tile. When Link gets to his room, he opens his door and walks in, hesitation present in his body language. Rhett notices it, but wordlessly follows and crosses the threshold before pivoting to close the door behind him. 

As soon as Rhett turned away from the door, he was greeted with arms thrown across his waist in a crushing hug. Instinctively, his arms wind around Link’s broad shoulders to pull him in just as forcefully. He can feel fingertips curl into the fabric of his t-shirt, seemingly needing to feel to believe that the man in front of him was truly there again.

“How was your trip?”

The shorter man’s voice was muffled by Rhett’s chest and in return, a low laugh reverberates through it. 

“Good... spent a lot of it babysitting my little cousins while the ‘adults’ talked.” 

He feels Link shake against him in a soundless chuckle. Rhett waits a beat before tacking on, “Missed you.” He swears he can feel the limbs around his midsection tighten just a bit. They stand there together for another moment, both reveling in their silent embrace just as much as the other.

When Link pulls away from Rhett, he can’t look him in the eye. It felt like he’d already given his friend an all-access pass to see just how lost he was without him. 

If only he knew how much Rhett needed their allotted midweek phone call to retain his sanity. Rhett used his familial chaos as a way to focus all his energy away from the nagging loneliness that crept in whenever he had a moment to ruminate. 

He sat through reunion dinners in a daze. Rhett tried to seem interested, he really did, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that he was missing out on something. Maybe it was Link who was missing out.

 

After that week apart, Rhett slept over Link’s house until his back physically couldn’t handle sleeping on the floor again. This was their last summer before college and they were determined to make the most of their limited free time together.

 

It’s early on a Tuesday and it’s the kind of day where the clouds hang in a thick, low layer and even the illumination from the sun can’t penetrate it fully. The weather itself seems to emanate a sense of urgency. Link saw that rain wasn’t in the forecast for today, but he really didn’t know if he believed it. The teen was now on the path to engineering, but his affinity for weather broadcasting hadn’t dwindled entirely yet. 

Link’s lying back in the grass and reading, using his shirt as a pillow and the book held above him as a shield from the radiating light. The two men had taken a dip together earlier, and about an hour in Link resigned to perching on the riverbank near his friend. Rhett was currently trying to hold his breath for as long as he could underwater and every few minutes he’d take a deep breath, dive down and return gasping for air- relaying his time when he caught his breath.

After the third attempt, Link waits for him to break the water to throw a lighthearted comment Rhett’s way. 

“Careful you don’t go killin’ all your brain cells before college; You don’t got much to start with.” The blue-eyed man’s got his head lolled to the side, looking to Rhett expectantly. He rolls his eyes back in mild annoyance. 

Link giggles, high and unrestrained. In response, Rhett curves and flicks his wrist forward quickly- slicing the surface of the water and launching a stream toward his friend in retaliation. The liquid just barely reaches him, landing mostly on the grass, but some of it splatters against his calves.

“Hey, man! I’m dryin’ off now.” Link is aware that he’s overreacting, but he doesn’t feel like abandoning the dramatics. He knows Rhett will indulge him.

Rhett chuckles back and inhales deeply, diving back under. Link shakes his head and returns to his book with a small smile.

It probably should have bothered him more; Every time Rhett came up for air, the resulting splash would break Link’s concentration and his multi-tasking skills unfortunately weren’t good enough to tune his friend out. He really didn’t have it in him to be annoyed, though. Each time the taller boy would surface, Link would try to continue reading the sentence but end up sighing half-heartedly, turning to Rhett to watch him breathlessly explain his new time. 

Link doesn’t know how long their little cycle went on, but the small smile he shot back after Rhett boasted about his score never relented. Rhett got up to a minute and three seconds (according to him) before he decided to retire on the riverbank, lungs thoroughly burning. 

Big hands spread out against the soil, seeking leverage and gripping tight to pull Rhett up and out of the water. Link’s eyes flick over for a second to the lanky boy in front of him, trailing down his body before returning to his book just as quickly.

Rhett huffs a laugh under his breath and takes a step towards Link, dropping down next to him unceremoniously. There’s the hint of a smile on the blue-eyed mans face before he can suppress it from his friend and Rhett full-on grins and leans back, bracing himself on his arms. Link gives up and turns away from his book. They look at each other for a moment, beaming, before Link shakes his head softly and goes back to reading.

 

Something Link really came to appreciate about their friendship was their ability to fight without meaning any of it. No matter how serious it may feel in the moment, they both know that at the end of the day they are tied to each other like an anchor to a ship.

Link glances up at Rhett, who’s got his head tilted up towards the sky now, eyes closed. The river water collected in his short hair, creating superficially sharp clusters, strong brow bone contrasting with dainty light-brown eyelashes. A walking contradiction. 

Link doesn’t know if he’s the boat or the anchor. Maybe they oscillate together.

 

He turns to his book once again, watching Rhett through his periphery. Link’s reading but he’s not really processing it. The playfully argumentative ambiance hung thick in the air in the absence of their voices.

It’s silent for another moment, save for the water trickling constantly beside them.

Rhett breaks it abruptly, singing some Brooks & Dunn b-side. He looks so carefree and comfortable that it almost doesn’t annoy Link.

 

Almost.

 

The shorter man huffs through his nose and turns his head to look at his friend. “I’m tryin’ to read, man.” The singing decrescendos back to silence and Link returns to his book.

Rhett’s lids open gently and he looks at Link out of the corner of his eye. 

“Nerd.”

Link scrunches his face up in confusion and shoots back, “You read more than me and you know it.”

Rhett ignores him and opts to pick at the grass, his friend knowing him far too well. He uses his fingernail to pinch the strands of grass in half, chlorophyll staining the tips of his thumb and forefinger. Rhett sighs, bored out of his mind. What he wouldn’t give to’ve brought a stereo with them. 

They _could_ play a CD through Link’s truck, but they’re pretty far from the small parking lot it resided in. They’d end up ruining the speakers just to hear the music faintly. Link had wanted to find the perfect spot to read and swim and although Rhett rolled his eyes, he trailed behind his friend without a word. 

He starts pulling fistfuls of grass from the earth and turns his head over to the water. There’s a family of mallards in the distance, chicks following closely behind their parents. 

“Bo.”

Link hums in acknowledgement, but doesn’t make a move to look up.

“Ducks. Babies, too.” Rhett says, eyebrows raised in a disarming gesture, willing his friend to pay attention to him. 

The dark-haired man obliges, albeit fleetingly. “They’re too far away to see, Rhett.”

In response, Rhett rolls his eyes and says, “So come closer!” in a lilting, childlike tone. Link laughs but turns his head to his book once again, telling his friend that he was _busy_.

Impulsively, Rhett throws the grass in his hand at Link. A dozen blades make it to him and scatter across his chest. Link looks up at him, real annoyance in his face now.

“Dude.” He says, leveling with Rhett. Giving him an option for this to end here.

Rhett holds eye contact with him, the corner of his lips twitching, but he leaves it alone, turning his head away from Link again to look at the ducks in formation. They’re closer to the teens now, but still too far to be easily visible. The taller man leans his weight over to the right onto his elbow, bringing his body to the edge of the water.

He has a slightly better vantage point in his new, slanted position but he quickly grows tired of straining his eyes to get just a glimpse of the ducklings. Rhett dips his hand into the river, feeling it flow steadily against him.

Underneath the water, he rubs his fingers together, using each nail to scrape below the other in an attempt to rid his skin of the green tint. After a few seconds, he bends his arm up to his face, inspecting his fingers for pigment. It’s faded slightly but Rhett deems it enough for now. It’s the best he could do without soap.

While he’s looking at his glistening skin, an idea hits him and he smirks to himself. He cups his hand and extends his arm again, dunking it underwater to pool in his palm. Rhett sits up and pulls his hand from the water, cavalierly leaning towards Link and dropping the nearly-cold water on his chest.

Link looks up at him incredulously. Rhett grins back, wolfish.

“Stop it, ya jerk!” 

“ _You’re_ a jerk.” Rhett says, more resolutely. His chest is rising faster now, rivulets of water from his earlier swim dropping down to his waistband.

 

And then, the energy in the air shifts like the calm before the storm. Both looking toward one another with a glint in their eyes, waiting for the other to break. Looking for a signal to move forward, not wanting to be the cowardly one and back away from their undeclared challenge.

 

Link swallows roughly before he speaks, just louder than a whisper. “Fuck you.”

 

The smile he gets in response is predatory and intimidating and in the back of his mind, Link knows he really shouldn’t have picked a fight with a guy so much bigger than him. 

 

Rhett rolls onto him, hooks his leg over Link’s and in one motion grabs the younger man’s slim wrists in his hands loosely. Link’s cheek is subsequently pressed to the side of Rhett’s neck, while Rhett’s only able to see the patchy, brown grass by the side of Link’s head. He can hear and feel Link’s unrestrained giggles from below him and Rhett decides to take it up a notch, tightening his hands around Link’s wrists and pinning them to the dirt roughly. That makes the laughter stop and with a renewed fervor, Rhett fumbles with his right knee to find Link’s leg and press himself harder into his friend.

“I’m dead.” He says monotonously, mouth only inches from Link’s ear.

Link groans and tries to release his arms from Rhett’s grasp, but it’s futile. “C’mon, man.”

He swears he can hear the shit-eating grin in Rhett’s voice as he repeats, “I’m dead.”

Link decides he won’t go down without a fight. He shakes his hips backwards in a move akin to an army crawl, attempting to free his legs from Rhett’s crushing weight. The back of his head thumps against the ground and at any other time it would hurt, but he doesn’t even notice it, the adrenaline fueling his movements entirely.

Despite having the upper hand, Rhett’s heart is racing, his chest heaving irregularly. He can smell the sweat and river water on the skin of the man below him, and he can feel the warmth growing between their bare skin - pressed together firmly. Slightly slick from Rhett’s earlier attack.

Rhett can feel Link’s hip bones digging into his thighs and for some reason, that draws a breath from him when it clicks. When he inhales, he’s barraged with the smell of Link’s cologne and shampoo, slightly faded from the day and the water. 

It’s utterly intoxicating and he turns his head to the left, farther into Link’s soft hair. He was in the process of growing it out before school and he’s long overdo for a haircut. Even though he’s been out of the water a while now, it’s still damp and slicked down against his head. 

Link is able to free a leg from underneath Rhett, forcing the taller boy to put his weight on his left knee, bracketed in between the splayed legs of the teen below. When Rhett settles on him, Link bends his knee, placing his foot flat on the ground and pushing up against the boy pinning him down.

A surprised gasp comes from Rhett after Link bucks up, and Rhett’s hands tighten around his wrists- nails biting into his skin just hard enough to leave a mark.

“Dead people can’t grab like that.”

Rhett is motionless on top of him and after a few seconds he shoots back, “Rigor mortis.” 

Link exhales loudly, both annoyed and amused. There’s a plea hidden in his tone. “Dude.”

When Rhett makes no move to get up, Link sighs angrily and shifts his hips- his left thigh coming into contact with his friends crotch. There’s a quiet groan just above his ear and Link’s heart immediately starts crashing in his chest. 

“W-”, Before Link can get the word out, he feels the man above him stutter forward, pressing his growing hardness into the junction in between Link’s leg and pelvis. There’s no room for misinterpretation and heat shoots through Link’s veins.

He tilts his head up farther, unintentionally nosing against Rhett’s neck and earlobe. He swears he can hear Rhett’s breath hitch. The skin on their forearms is just barely touching and it’s almost electrifying. Every hair on Link’s body feels like it’s standing at attention. It’s such a contrast from the almost-painful grip on his wrists that his head is spinning, unable to focus on anything except the feeling of Rhett on top of him and the dull throbbing in his shorts. 

He’s half-hard now and by now, there’s no way Rhett can’t feel it. Link doesn’t know where to go from here but he doesn’t see this stopping anytime soon. Rhett takes a deep, shuddering breath before grinding his hips down against Link in a torturously slow circle. Their groins finally come into contact, albeit briefly, and Link’s eyes close involuntarily. 

The leg Link had propped up returns slowly to rest on the ground, the pressure against his growing erection proving to be too distracting for him. After his leg moves to lay flat, Rhett seems to hesitate in his movements. Link instinctually picks up where his friend left off.

The next move he makes is deliberate and slow as he rolls his hips up- the drag of fabric against head of his cock causes him to full-on moan into Rhett’s neck. All bets are off at this point and Link really doesn’t care where this ends, he just wants to chase this feeling.

Rhett is warm and heavy and hard on top of him. Link flexes his arms and tries to push up twice with his wrists. Rhett understands and finally releases his grip and Link almost misses his slightly painful restraint. He doesn’t have much time to think about it before the man above him uses his elbows to push up and off of Link slightly.

Link’s eyes are still closed and his heart sinks to his stomach when they separate, expecting this to be the end and for Rhett to tell him how weird he was for liking it. When Rhett settles back on top of him again, their dicks are pressed flush together, only kept apart by thin layers of mesh and cloth. Link lets out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. All self-consciousness is quickly forgotten when Rhett shuffles his arm forward clumsily and a hand tangles in the back of Link’s hair.

As he switches the speed of his thrusts, fucking against Link in quick little bursts, Rhett wonders if the boy below him is holding back breathless words of encouragement as much as he is. He needs to tell Link how good this feels, how good he feels, but in somewhere in the back of his mind he knows not to push too far. Link was prone to overthinking and Rhett knew that distracting him right now would spiral him into self-doubt and confusion, knew verbalizing it would force them _both_ to look at it- really look at what enjoying this meant for them.

Rhett can feel how taut Link’s balls are, even beneath the dark blue trunks he’s wearing. He’d seen Link nude before, but it was different now. It was so much better. He may have been clothed, but now he was under Rhett- eager and aching.

Link hadn’t even remembered that Rhett let go of him ( _and that his eyes were still closed_ ) until he tried to struggle against nonexistent bonds and when he does, he puts his arms down at his sides. Palms flat against the ground near his hips, using the grass’ distracting sensation as a tether to his sanity. When he opens his eyes, he’s met with the sight of deep grey stratonimbus clouds. The color has darkened substantially in the few minutes since he’d last been paying attention. Mother Nature herself seemingly accompanying the young men below. In the back of his mind, Link thinks back to the weather report earlier that morning before he’d met up with Rhett. He _knew_ it was going to rain as soon as he left his house today, he could just feel it in the air.

Rhett tilts his head up and his lips accidentally brush against Link’s neck. In response, the blue-eyed teen stiffens. After a moment, Rhett leans forward and presses a feather-light kiss to the same spot. The touch is gone almost immediately but there’s no doubt in Link’s mind that it was intentional. 

The boy underneath him gasps and wraps his right leg around Rhett, using his lower limbs to pull Rhett’s thigh harder against his straining erection. After a second of hesitation, he wraps his arm around Rhett’s back, hand still staying carefully separated from the soft skin. In return, Rhett tugs on his hair lightly and Link’s chin tilts up toward the sky, a pant escaping through parted lips. 

Link can’t hold back anymore, and he places his palm flat against the heated skin. Rhett sighs and the tips of Link’s fingers dig into the flesh slightly, nails just short enough to leave Rhett’s skin free of marks. His friend places another fleeting kiss to his skin and then he thrusts down against him, groaning quietly into Link’s chest. 

Hot breath washes across Link’s neck where Rhett’s buried his face and Link is so far gone now; He’s making little panting sounds and sucking in air desperately through his teeth, riding out his friends steady pressure. He can feel it building low in his gut, the skin of his fingertips seemingly vibrates where it’s flush against Rhett’s back. 

 

It’s all over so fast, both breathing hard and rutting against each other shamelessly. Rhett finishes first, his hands tightening in the grass by Link’s head and the hair at the nape of his neck. His mouth hangs open in a low moan against the base of Link’s throat as his hips twitch forward unevenly, releasing pearlescent cum in the small space between fabric and flesh.

Almost immediately, Link’s following him, limbs tightening around Rhett’s body. By now, Rhett’s stopped moving, so Link rolls his hips upward desperately, breath stuttering. As Link’s hit with the tail-end of his orgasm, Rhett’s stilling and then pushing off of his body entirely.

Link’s limbs feel boneless and Rhett breaks away from him easily, standing upright. Link’s hand immediately covers his groin, the heel of his palm digging in as he tries to prolong the sensation. Rhett turns away as soon as he’s off of Link, but the boy on the ground cranes his neck upward instinctively and catches a glimpse of his trunks- tented slightly as his erection subsides. 

Rhett’s back is stiff as he looks out to the water. He can hear his friend behind him, struggling to calm his breaths. He’s trying to do the same, trying to keep his body as still and solid and _okay_ as he can. His knees and elbows are red and indented from resting his weight on them in the grass. The expanse of water in front of them is in stark contrast with the men on the shore- placid and consistent and assured. 

The sky above them, however, is dark and foreboding. It’s gotten cloudier, if that were even possible, and the distortion in the light causes Rhett’s skin to look grey and almost sallow. He’s sure Link’s mirrors his. The ducks from a few minutes earlier aren’t in the water anymore and Rhett crosses his arms, silently praying for them to’ve made it to safety beneath one of the many trees along the river. 

When Link removes his hand from the front of his shorts, his breath hitches and he can’t help the small whimper that makes it through clenched teeth. He sees the muscles in Rhett’s back release and tense up once again and he almost wants to say something, but he knows that now isn’t the time. He lets his head fall back against the ground, attempting to return to eupnea. 

Rhett’s still staring out at the water, swimming in his own thoughts, when he sees a ripple form. A second later he feels a faint drop against his scapula and he’s brought back fully into reality. He can feel the uncomfortable cooling in his swimming trunks, indicative of what just happened. As if Rhett could ignore it. 

 

He knew that he had to make the next move. Link was behind him, still saying nothing. The rain starts to fall steadily now, droplets littering his back. Rhett takes a deep breath in before ducking his head down and turning around slowly to his friend. Out of the corner of his eye, he can see that Link’s chest is still rising unevenly and he’s propped up on his elbows. He doesn’t look up from the ground, but he takes a step forward and reaches a hand out to Link.

Link takes it, wrapping tightly to be assisted up. They’re suddenly standing only inches apart and their hearts both return to the fierce pace they’d just come back from. Rhett clears his throat, still refusing to make eye contact, and he cocks his head toward Cape Fear. Link releases his hand and almost immediately Rhett’s turning away and walking to the edge of the water. He doesn’t hesitate before jumping in. The blue-eyed teen stands on the shore for another moment, watching Rhett’s back as he swims. Link crouches down a bit before diving in after him.

As they float idly in the river, the water cools their flushed skin and strips their bodies and clothes of the evidence. Rhett uses their towel to dry himself as best as he can, and when he’s done he wordlessly hands it over to Link. He starts to dry himself off and Rhett bends down to retrieve his friends damp book and t-shirt for him. 

 

They don’t speak the whole drive home. The silence seems almost amplified by the percussive, metallic sound of rain hitting the truck.


	3. Freshman Year: Under the Cover of Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rhett’s voice is hushed, but with the weight of the question, he might as well be shouting. “Are you touchin’ yourself, man?”
> 
> -
> 
> “Yeah… thought you were asleep.”

Rhett’s voice is hushed, but with the weight of the question, he might as well be shouting. “Are you touchin’ yourself, man?”

 

They’re only a foot or so apart—Link doesn’t know how he thought he could get away with it. 

 

His movements falter and a hot wave of shame radiates through him. Even with the humiliation flooding his body, seemingly down to his bones, his dick twitches unconsciously at the inquiry. At this point, he knows he can’t deny it. He’s short of breath—his forehead is blanketed with a thin sheen of sweat and his bare-chested body is angled away from Rhett’s bed in an awkward, tell-tale manner. Link steels himself to respond, opens his eyes and turns his head slightly towards Rhett. When he answers, his voice is quiet, but they’re so close in the otherwise silent room it sounds as if he’s speaking normally.

 

“Yeah… thought you were asleep.”

 

Rhett looks directly at him, then. Link can barely make him out and he wonders how long Rhett’s eyes have been adjusting to the blanket of darkness. How much he saw before he spoke up. There’s a moment of both stillness and undulating tension. “Well… ‘m not,” he says—and with the way the interaction had been going it was poised to be a joke, but the response hangs flat and uneasy in the air between the two men.

 

Link is still touching himself, but he’s no longer sheathing his cock. He has his palm pressed against the shaft in an attempt to hide his arousal—as if Rhett isn’t already painfully aware. They don’t speak for a moment and the ambience of their dorm room takes over. The steady hum of static on their shared television, rhythmic ticking of the clock on their wall and their labored-but-pretending-otherwise breathing.

 

There’s an audible gulp before Rhett speaks up again. 

 

“You don’t hav’ta stop.”

 

If Link had thought he was close before Rhett woke up, he doesn’t even know how to describe what he feels now. Warmth shoots down his veins, vibrating to his fingertips and toes. He has to be leaking onto his stomach by now—swears his length is pulsating beneath his palm. His heart beats overtime while somehow stopping altogether. Link takes an uneven breath before whispering back. “Yeah…?” His voice is soft and unsure.

 

“Yeah.” Rhett responds, speaking emphatic and reassuring at a normal volume.

 

There’s a moment of uncertainty where Link looks right back into Rhett’s eyes, searching for a familiar glint of facetiousness. The stare he’s met with is the same he’s known for over a decade now—patient and encouraging and enduring. Rhett’s gaze is so open and unperturbed that Link almost feels bad for expecting him to joke about something like this.

 

He slowly removes pressure off his arousal and then withdraws entirely. When Link’s left hand stops to rest at his side, he hears a noise of surprise from Rhett. The brunet looks up to see Rhett, mouth hanging slack and eyes now trained on the barely-concealed tent below Link’s threadbare sheets.

 

Now that Rhett knows what Link’s doing, there’s no need to hide anymore. He can use his dominant hand. Link slides his right up his bare hip and wraps it around himself, and he sees Rhett stiffen in his periphery. It would give him pause—but Rhett makes no objections, so he strokes himself once lightly from root to tip.

 

“I have lotion?” Rhett says quickly.

 

Link looks up to meet his gaze in the dark. “Yeah, please.”

 

Rhett nods, mostly to himself, and leans down to the side of his bed for his lubricant of choice—tucked in between their mini-fridge and his metal bed frame. When he rights himself, lotion in hand, he’s unsure what to do. Link senses his hesitation and pulls his hand— the same hand he was just touching himself with—out from under the covers. He doesn’t seem phased when he reaches over to receive a dollop of lubricant, sheet slipping down his hip slightly, so Rhett feigns calmness as well.

 

Link squeezes his fingers into his palm in a half-assed attempt to distribute the lotion evenly. When he makes a move to return his arm under the blanket, Rhett speaks again.

 

“You can, uh…” He audibly swallows and Link lays still. “You don’t have to use the blanket. Not like I’ve never seen it.” 

 

Link isn’t sure whether Rhett’s referring to  _ him _ naked or seeing men in this… state. But he doesn’t feel like asking—only doing. Every second since Rhett first spoke up has felt like a dream and Link wants to see where it’ll take him.

 

He grabs a corner of his sheet with his clean hand and begins to creep it upwards—first exposing his feet and the boxers bunched around his ankles. He’s giving Rhett the option to change his mind, but Rhett says nothing—Link only hears his blood crashing in his ears. Refusing to look over at Rhett, he flips the sheet off sideways, exposing himself fully. 

 

Link can hear Rhett’s breathing stutter next to him. He decides to tuck his left arm under his head while he wraps his hand around himself. The lotion is noticeably colder than his skin and he hisses as he begins slowly stroking. As he nears the head, he twists and loosens his grip—hips involuntarily twitching up into his fist.

 

Rhett shifts uncomfortably next to him. His hands move restlessly by his sides, and after a moment, he rests one on his stomach. The slick sound Link’s making pierces his eardrums and below the blanket, Rhett starts absentmindedly playing with his fingernails.

 

They’d been watching a movie together on their shared t.v., and by now, the tape has stopped, flooding their room in a fuzzy glow. The screen has switched from VHS to static and it shines faint, flashing light on the two men. Just enough for them to make each other out in the dark—not enough to have to face the paradigm shift head-on.

 

The brunette’s eyes are closed, now—fully reveling in the sensation. Rhett chews his lip and lets his right hand creep down his stomach slowly. He’s been half-hard for a while. Link hadn’t been as quiet as he thought he was, and Rhett was a light sleeper. After one muffled noise, he had stirred awake—yet Link hadn’t been perceptive enough to notice it. 

 

He bites the bullet and places his palm flat against his crotch. The pressure change alone has his eyelids fluttering, and while he grinds down slowly, he’s thankful he’s already got his lip worried between his teeth.

 

He takes a small, shuddering breath and rubs his hand against his length—following the base to the sensitive tip. After a few passes he gets careless, slips and runs directly over the head. Rhett lets out a low noise in the back of his throat.

 

When he opens his eyes, Link’s looking back at him smugly. Despite the expression, Rhett can see the heart behind it. He isn’t judging—merely playing. 

 

Link clears his throat and turns his gaze toward himself. Low-lidded, he watches his dick shrouded beneath his fist. As his hand returns to his body once more, he lets his palm open—fingers curl around his balls and thumb resting at the base. Link’s eyes flick to Rhett’s for a second before he decides to gloat.

 

Rhett had always been taller than him—probably always would be. But after a heated discussion, Link had learned that he was bigger in  _ one _ aspect. He uses his thumb to push his erection away from his body. Sticking straight up, on proud display and glistening. When he withdraws his hand, he tenses his abdominal muscles and his cock thuds against his belly—smearing precum on the soft skin there. Rhett stares, transfixed—watching a thin string form momentarily between the different points of his friend’s body. The light from the television is illuminating the wetness on Link’s stomach and the sight renders Rhett’s mouth dry.

 

After a moment, he manages to speak, albeit breathlessly. “Nice.”

 

Their eyes meet and Link swallows before asking, “Yeah?” Typically when he bragged, Rhett would lovingly put him back in his place. Now, however, there’s no trace of sarcasm in his voice.

 

“Yeah, man.” Rhett murmurs back, accent slipping into his tone.

 

Rhett’s eyes jump back down to Link’s flushed erection and he subconsciously runs his hand along his own once again. He looks back up and sees Link trained on the movement under his blanket. It shoots a jolt of fear through him until Link looks up to meet Rhett’s gaze, licking his lips and asking, “You hard?”

 

There’s no use lying about it, so Rhett just swallows roughly and nods.

 

“Lemme see you, then.”

 

He nods again and takes a breath to steel himself before he rips the blanket off in a flourish. The heat that was trapped below quickly evaporates and he shivers slightly, adjusting to the temperature change. He knows Link is watching him now, so he decides to put on a show—wrapping a hand around himself over his sweatpants to give a preview.

 

With the fabric stretched taut against Rhett’s body, it leaves nothing to the imagination— and Link responds as such. “Geez, weren’t joking when you said you had breadth, huh?”

 

Rhett snorts a laugh and Link follows, giggling quietly. When the exuberant energy dies down, Link goads Rhett on. “C’mon, let me see.”

 

Despite the faint lighting, Link can see his friend’s eyebrow raise high at the request. “Eager, aren’t you?” Rhett murmurs back, rubbing his thumb up his length—teasing both himself and Link.

 

Link hadn’t thought it was possible for his face to flush harder, but it does, and he feels the heat creep up the back of his neck. “Don’t wanna be the only one showin’.” He hopes to God his tone doesn’t reveal how defensive he truly feels.

 

When the blonde merely hums in response, Link holds his breath, feeling caught out. He  _ knew _ he should’ve just waited until Rhett left for his first class that morning.

 

He’s broken out of his reverie by movement—Rhett’s fingers sneak beneath his waistband and at the same time, he lifts his hips and slightly works his sweatpants down, exposing his flushed head and teasing Link with the first inch of his length. When he looks up to Rhett’s eyes, Link’s taken aback to find him already staring.

 

For a second Link falters, but he quickly catches himself and flips it onto Rhett. “Come on, man. You scared or somethin’?” He resumes his lazy strokes and lets out a huff of what he hopes is interpreted as nonchalance.

 

Rhett rolls his eyes and thumbs his pants down more, finally revealing himself from his glans to his sac. Now that Link has the opportunity to look without shame—or at least without  _ total _ shame—he drinks in his friend’s appearance. Rhett’s shirt has ridden up slightly, showing off his sharp hip bones. Midway between them, his cock rests against his stomach. Rhett’s got more hair than Link, but his is lighter and blends into his skin, whereas the hair adorning Link’s pubis is wiry black and stark on the pale skin below his tanline. It takes a moment before he realizes he’s staring—and when he does, he clears his throat and says the first thing that comes to mind.

 

“Uh, you, too.”

 

Rhett’s eyelids flutter in confusion. “Huh?”

 

Link takes in a shaky, steadying breath. “Nice.”

 

There’s a moment of realization, quickly followed by a bark of laughter and his surprisingly genuine response. “Thanks, man.” Rhett grabs his lotion once more and Link’s heart picks up speed at the implication. Blue eyes are focused right on Rhett as he pours a bit of lotion into his palm. Thoughtlessly, Link starts stroking again and watches, dumbfounded, as Rhett wraps a lotioned hand around himself, too.

 

The two men begin touching themselves—together, but not matching pace. The pair trade soft, slick noises back and forth with their unsynchronized movements. Now that they’ve stopped speaking, though, Link isn’t able to break that silence.

 

Rhett shifts his feet, his free hand reaching down to rub at his chest and stomach. After a few seconds, his fingers dip underneath his shirt and ruck it up with the movement. He tweaks a nipple and his hips buck up into his hand unintentionally. He tilts his head to the side to watch Link, who’s still stroking himself, albeit hesitantly.

 

It takes Rhett a few seconds to realize he’s making a majority of the noises in their room, aside from the sound of them fucking their fists. 

 

“Don’t hav’to be quiet, man,” Rhett slurs, lifting his shirt higher to rub across his chest with more ease. He doesn’t know whether he’s saying it out of embarrassment, being the louder of the two, but he makes no move to stifle himself.

 

Link’s eyes meet Rhett’s and he swallows nervously, yet some of the tension leaves his body. He blinks owlishly and pauses his strokes to rub a hand over his pubis and stomach. The feeling hitches his breath.

 

The two men are still inspecting one another when the blonde makes intense eye contact once again. “Moan.” Rhett commands in a quiet, even tone. Something about the quality of his voice affects Link, and Link doesn’t think he could disobey Rhett even if he tried. And God, he really wants to make Rhett happy.

 

He reaches his other hand down so he can cradle himself in tandem with the measured stroking. Link has his bottom lip worried between his teeth, and when he runs his thumb along his glistening head, a shameless whimper is drawn from his lungs. 

 

Link’s hips roll back into his mattress and his eyelids shut tight, whole body recoiling from the too-intense stimuli. It overwhelms him—for a second he basks before remembering the visual aid beside him and he opens his eyes, intent on memorizing every detail of this. Now that Rhett’s awake, Link doesn’t bother holding back every labored breath, every desperate moan that he’d been stifling for the first two months at N.C. State.

  
  


They both know how dangerous this is. The last time something this blatant had happened between them, Link hadn’t talked to him until it was impossible to avoid. This is different from when they’d talk about girls, or the few times they’d looked at porn together in the past. After times like those, they would be red-faced and jittery, but they’d just cough and move onto the next subject—albeit distractedly.

 

For a week after the river ‘incident,’ Rhett had called Link’s house and the phone would be picked up either by his mom or a softer, changed Link. For six days Link had claimed that illness or household chores were preventing him from seeing Rhett. The breaking point had been reached the seventh day, early on a Tuesday morning.

 

_ When Link picks up the landline, worrying the cord between his fingers, he isn’t given the chance to deny Rhett’s invitation. _

 

_ “I’m coming to get you and we’re going fishing. Bring your pole and meet me at the graveyard. I’m leavin’ in 10 minutes.” The older boy sounds determined, but Link’s known him long enough to hear the anxious edge behind his voice.  _

 

_ It’s silent for a moment, save for the ambience of their phone connection. Rhett’s nervousness creeps in and he tacks on an unsure, “Okay?” _

 

_ Being aware of Rhett’s own anxieties shifts something in Link, and he suddenly can’t believe he’s let this distance go on for this long. He misses Rhett. _

 

_ “Yeah. I’ll be there by 7:50. If you buy the bait, I’ll get you back for it.” _

 

_ Across town and on the other side of the phone, Rhett grins. “Got it, bo. See ya.” _

  
  


Across their dorm, Rhett huffs through his nose and his tongue comes out to wet his lips. Link’s eyes roam his face and come to rest on Rhett’s mouth, pink and slick. He wonders what it would feel like for Rhett to wrap his lips around him. With the zeal he knew him to have, it’d be earth-shattering. 

 

He’s broken out of his thoughts by Rhett muttering, “Close.” Rhett reaches down to the hem of his shirt and lifts it to rest above his nipples. The hand wrapped around himself tightens slightly and begins moving faster—abandoning the even pace he’d kept up.

 

Link can only watch in a slack-jawed haze as Rhett’s lithe body tenses and curls inward before he lets out a shuddering sigh. His stomach is promptly splattered minimally—some making it up to his pecs, but mostly flowing over his knuckles. Link realizes why Rhett had moved his shirt and he groans, picking up the pace on himself. His mouth hangs open as he groans out his breaths, eyes screwing shut. It only takes a few more strokes before he’s following Rhett, whimpering and covering his bare chest.

 

When he unwinds his fingers, he breathes out, “ _ Good _ ness,” and opens his eyes to see Rhett staring back. He’s got a lazy smile on his face and he reaches up to grab his collar at the back of his neck, pulling it off clumsily. The reason why becomes clear to Link when his friend begins wiping his hand in the cloth, then trailing it down to clean his belly. Rhett finishes and then carefully folds the shirt before leaning over to offer it to Link.

 

Blue eyes snap down to the offending fabric, and after a moment of hesitation, he reaches over to grab it from Rhett.

 

“Th-Thanks,” he mumbles, voice gravelly and low from its previous use. He doesn’t pause before bringing the soiled shirt to his chest, but he won’t worry about what that means right now. It takes him longer to clear his skin of release—his torso’s wet with it. Once he’s clean—as clean as he could be right now—he lifts the fabric off his skin awkwardly and looks to Rhett for help.

 

“You can just put it on the floor. I’ll do laundry before class tomorrow,” the green-eyed man supplies nonchalantly, still slightly winded. He lifts his hips, thumbing his sweatpants and boxers back in place and covering his softening member.

 

Link watches it happen, clears his throat when Rhett is semi-clothed again and drops the dirty t-shirt onto the floor. His immediate instinct is to cover up, too, but his boxers had been long forgotten around his ankles, so he quickly sits up to tug them on. 

 

When he lays back down, neither of them speak. He can see Rhett looking at him out of the corner of his eye, so he does what feels the most natural to him.

 

Link tilts his head, makes eye contact with Rhett in the dim light, and states, “G’night.” He doesn’t wait for a response before turning quickly to face the wall and pull his covers up.

 

“Night,” Rhett says back quietly, voice indecipherable. Link can make out the familiar sound of Rhett mirroring him—back to back, blankets moved to rest over their bodies. 

  
  


Link is usually able to go to sleep in seconds, but the lack of closure keeps him awake or in a fitful, inconsistent rest. He doesn’t know that it’s worse for Rhett—the older unable to close his eyes for more than a minute without returning to stare at the blank dorm wall.

  
  


In the morning, Rhett gets out of bed first, scooping his clothes from the floor and throwing them into Link’s already half-full hamper. The commotion wakes Link and he yawns exaggeratedly before mumbling, “Thanks, man.”

 

“No problem,” Rhett replies, stifling down his own yawn and internally planning to stop by a café off-campus while he’s out doing their laundry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I Don't like this chapter title but it's all I could think of lmao
> 
> thank you to my betas [its_mike_kapufty](https://archiveofourown.org/users/its_mike_kapufty/works) and [ssodangdark](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ssodangdark/pseuds/ssodangdark/works) I owe u my life


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